OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether financial incentives lead to improvement in self-management behaviors and glycemia in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Adolescents (12- to 18-year-olds) with T1D selected incentivized self-management behavior and clinical outcome goals in a three-treatment (gain frame, loss frame, no incentives) crossover randomized controlled trial. Participants could earn up to $180 in each 12-week incentive treatment arm.

RESULTS

Compared with a mean 41% behavioral goal attainment within the nonfinancial incentives arm, mean behavioral goal attainment under gain and loss frames was 50% (P < 0.01) and 45% (P < 0.01), respectively. Mean time in range (TIR) in gain frame and loss frame arms was higher 43% (P < 0.01) and 42% (P < 0.01), respectively, compared with when not receiving financial incentives (38%). There was no difference in A1C among the three arms.

CONCLUSIONS

Financial incentives can improve diabetes self-management behaviors and TIR in adolescents with T1D in the short-term.

Graphical Abstract

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Clinical trial reg. no. NCT04516694, ClinicalTrials.gov

This article contains supplementary material online at https://doi.org/10.2337/figshare.26312542.

© 2024 by the American Diabetes Association
2024
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